2018-2-1  Whale Watching cruise out of Lahaina:

We decided we wanted to do a whale watching tour out of the West side while we were staying here.  But when we went to  make reservations, the only company we found with reservations left was the Pacific Whale Foundation.  We had gone on them out of Maalaea harbor a few years ago and contrary to some reviews I had read, our tour really wasn't bad.  So we decided to go ahead and book them again.  This time out of Lahaina.  We booked the 2pm discount tour for something like $33 @.
Got to Lahaina about 1pm and drove around a bit looking for parking.  The free 3 hour lot was full, so we found a pay lot not too far away for $8 for 6 hours.  Checked in for the cruise at their store, then wandered through the banyan tree for awhile.

Such a fascinating tree.

Since we still had about 30 minutes to spare, Becky and I also wandered around in the old courthouse turned museum/gallery.

There were even some neat views from the 2nd level.

I found these particularly interesting---what kids use to play with before the digital age.

another view of the tree from the 2nd level of the building.

The outside of the building.  There was an exterminator working on the inside.  He mentioned it had termites and the whole building was needing some work.

Then we wandered over to the meeting area.  Checking out the old command post.

the environmentalist giving her talk.

We boarded and were on our way by 2:02.

Wasn't long before we came upon a mother and her baby.  The baby was particularly active.  Unfortunately I was behind two 6 foot plus guys so mostly got glimpses from between them.  The captain did rotate the boat to try and give everyone views, but the baby wasn't as active when it was on my side.

so sometimes I was just looking out at other things.

another guy at a distance.

After about 30 minutes watching the baby, the captain decided to speed off towards another couple whales.  Of course, that's when the guys in front of me let me in front of them.  And the ride became a roller coaster.  The motion didn't bother me, but it did bother many other people---including our friend Don.  He and a few others headed to the back of the boat to take care of business.  But before he left, we hit a particularly large wave and many of us in the front got drenched.  I managed to save my camera, but was totally soaked from the waist down.  At least it was warm.
But soon we were treated to a really cool synchronized breech!

We did see a lot of breaching from a distance, but no tail slapping.  Mostly when we got close it was just them rolling their backs through the water.

Couldn't tell if these guys were totally disinterested, or sick. 

Another distance breech as we were heading in. 

They said the water was rougher then normal, but that whales are more active then.  Don't know if that's true, but they were really active.  Much more so then the last time we were on a whale watching tour.

Cool views of Lahaina as we were coming back in.

the marina from the water.

looking north

Front street.

Cheeseburger in Paradise.

shops on piers.

back at the slip.

right after us the Atlantis submarine pulled in.

off the boat and back to photographing flowers and such.  Love plumeria!

I also wanted to get back to Binky’s Banyan Boutique where I had seen some paintings turned into metal artwork by Mark Boogaloo, aka “boogaloo,” a couple days before.  I decided to get one.  Mark made the logo for the clothing brand No Fear and designed the Bad Boy Club logo as well as some other famous logos and great artworks. Now he is an artist living a Lahaina a few blocks away from where his art sells at Binky’s Banyan Boutique.  I had a hard time deciding between 2 of his pieces, so I got both---for a total of $200!

 these photos of them aren't the greatest, but you get the idea.
Mark even made a personalized Bad Boy Club signed drawing for Don (made us one on an earlier visit).  Don was wearing a Cardinal's baseball shirt so Mark even added a bat to the drawing--a really unique addition to the drawing.  Don owns a sporting goods store in Florissant, Mo. and said he's going to frame it and hang it in the store.  Seems fitting.  This is the logo--I didn't think to take a picture of Mark drawing the one with the bat.  What a lost opportunity!

We've been seeing a guy on a bike all around the area with this big cross.   Don't know if this is the same guy, but thought his little church was interesting.

Since we paid for 6 hours of parking, we decided to look for dinner.  After debating on where to go, we decided on Lahaina Pizza.  We weren't disappointed!  It's a thick crust pizza and really good.  Usually we're a thin crust pizza eater, but the change of pace was welcome.

view from the pizza place.

another view from Lahaina Pizza looking down Front Street.

inside the restaurant.

Nice ambiance.

Stuck around for sunset, but didn't get much of one.

heading back to the car.

love this painted guitar. 

Still on our way back to the car. 

Binky's

Drenched an all, I had a really good time.  I even think Fischers did, too, even though Don did chum the fish.  Time to get back to the condo and start packing for our move to the South side tomorrow.